Vodafone's Business Strategy: Environmental Analysis and Growth Plan

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Vodafone's business strategy, examining both the internal and external environments that influence its operations. It begins by evaluating Vodafone's internal environment, including its technology development, product design, manufacturing, marketing services, and skillset. The analysis then extends to the external environment through PESTLE, SWOT, Porter's Five Forces, and VRIO frameworks, identifying key political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors, as well as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report further explores the competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, threat of substitution, and threat of new entry within the telecom industry. Finally, it assesses Vodafone's value, rarity, imitability, and organization to understand its competitive advantage and concludes with strategic recommendations for achieving sustainable growth and success in the market. Desklib provides a platform for students to access this and similar solved assignments.

Business strategy

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
Internal Environment of the organisation.........................................................................4
PESTLE Analysis.................................................................................................................5
SWOT Analysis.....................................................................................................................6
PORTER five forces model to understand the industry Competitiveness......................7
VRIO Analysis......................................................................................................................8
PART 2............................................................................................................................................9
Evaluating the diverse types of strategic directions available to the organisation.........9
Ansoff’s Matrix...................................................................................................................10
Developing a strategic management Plan.........................................................................10
Producing strategic management plan.............................................................................12
Recommendations to achieve Growth and success..........................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14
Books and Journals...............................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Business strategy is a set of competitive moves in which the organisation uses various
methods and approaches in order to achieve the goals and objectives effectively. Vodafone is a
British multinational corporation which offers telecom services to the customers (Moktadir, and
et.al 2020). The report also aims to analyse about micro extra forces that can impact the
organisation. On the other hand, in this report there will be brief discussion about environmental
analysis which helps the organisation to achieve a sustainable performance in the market. Along
with that, there will be critical evaluation of the internal environment of the company. It includes
structure, skills and capabilities. For further instance, there will be discussion about the industry
and its competitiveness for Vodafone Company.
MAIN BODY
Internal Environment of the organisation
Internal environment is the set of elements which includes various factors in the
organisation structure. It generally includes various activities which are performed by the
business. For example, organisation culture, their ethics and values to achieve a goal etc.
Vodafone main vision is to fulfil the future needs of the generation by providing
excellent digital services (Olson, and et.al 2021). The management of the organisation is agile
and structured in ever y manner to achieve the goals and objectives effectively. Value chain
analysis can help to understand the capabilities of the organisation. On the other hand, the
environment of the company is described below:
 Technology development – In this stage the research and development of the company
finds new innovative ideas to make the product and services better in the market. The
main purpose of Vodafone is to offer best services in the market to attain maximum
customer satisfaction. The corporation understands the market trends effectively to
achieve sustainable performance over a coming period of time. They are building a new
digital infrastructure in which the employees can achieve maximum productivity and the
organisation can carry out the operations more smoothly in the market.
 Product design – The products of Vodafone are technology based and they are doing
maximum improvements to make them better. They ensure the quality of the products to
attain maximum customer satisfaction.

 Manufacturing – There is a logistics supply chain which Vodafone has established over
the recent years. They are emerging in various regions the organisation is attracting new
customers in the industry and gain a competitive advantage in the market. It is one of the
pivotal factor which is organisation is performing effectively.
 Marketing service – Vodafone is promoting their brand with the new digital ways. They
are advertising their product with the essential use of technologies.
 Skillet – Vodafone believes in the digital skills with the new marketing trends. The
organisation has managed to develop an improved infrastructure and workforce in which
the employees achieve the goals and objectives effectively.
PESTLE Analysis
Pestle analysis is strategic tool which helps the organisation to understand various new
trends which are emerging in the industry. It includes various factors which are described
below:
 Political – It relates to various government policies which can influence the business
over a significant period of time. The organisation needs to evaluate the factors
effectively. It includes factors like trade tariffs, conflicts etc. Vodafone has seen an
exponential growth in the market (Bai, Cordeiro, and Sarkis, 2020).With the changing
trends they are seeing and improvise competition in the market. The management needs
to innovate new ideas to boost the overall performance and sales. In UK the organisation
has done various settlements over new policies which have impacted their business.
 Economic – In this component there are various factors which could affect the overall
performance of the organisation. It includes foreign exchange rates, disposable income,
unemployment rate etc. The main purpose of Vodafone is to take a competitive advantage
by using various digital factors. With the new emerging trends, they need to improve
their business operations (Oldman, and Tomkins, 2018). The corporation needs to sell the
products and services in accordance to the customer’s satisfaction.
 Social – There are various factors which help the organisation to achieve its targets in the
market. It includes media, Brand preferences, consumer buying pattern etc. In accordance
to Vodafone the changes in the socio economic factors has impacted the organisation and
their performance. In various regions the company fails to understand the consumer
wants and needs.

 Moreover, their competitors have taken and edge by providing better quality services in
the industry.
 Technological – In this there are various factors which have direct and indirect impact on
the business (Brown, and Brown, 2019). It includes technological development,
automation, research and development etc. Vodafone has managed to achieve great
results in the market by using the resources in an effective manner.
 Legal – The organisation can be affected by the legal factors in a negative way. It
includes employment laws, consumer protection etc. In accordance to Vodafone the
organisation needs to provide effective services in which they are attaining maximum
customer satisfaction. The company has improved the lives of one billion users by
providing the quality services.
 Environmental – The organisation needs to achieve a sustainable performance by
managing their way of doing operations. This factor includes Climate, geographical
location weather etc. Vodafone understand their duty for the environment the
organisation is managing their operation in a systematic in which the environment is
benefitted (Park, and Mithas, 2020). They are focused on switching on the renewable
sources of energy.
SWOT Analysis
This is the tool which helps the organisation to evaluate various factors in order to gain a
competitive advantage in the market. It includes various components which are mentioned
below:
 Strengths – This factor helps the organisation to assess their strengths in order to achieve
the goals and objectives in the market. Vodafone has various strengths the company has
managed to acquire a huge share in the industry due to their ethical practices. On the
other hand, they are using unique marketing strategy to attract new potential customers in
the market.
 Weaknesses – This helps the company to asses various critical factors which are
stopping them to perform as per their potential. Vodafone is losing lot of users due to the
increasing competition in the industry. In various regions the market share is generally
decreasing due to the new emerging trends and the economic conditions.

 Opportunities - In this stage the organisation can capitalise on different future
opportunities to become more profitable in the market. Vodafone is an emerging
company they had seen an immense growth in the recent years. They are improving the
network coverage. On the other hand, they are also planning to launch the 5G services
which will help them to attract new customers and achieve greater results in the market.
 Threats – The organisation needs to evaluate various threats which are stopping their
growth and sales in the market. The main factor which is affecting the performance of
Vodafone is the increasing competition in the industry (Ali, and Anwar, 2021). In the
recent years the organisation has seen low profit margin due to various competitors and
brands.
PORTER five forces model to understand the industry Competitiveness
It is a simple yet effective tool which is used to identify the industry and the competition
present in the market. The organisation can have offered various new products to achieve great
sales in the market. There are various components of this framework which is described below:
 Competitive Rivalry – This is one of the most crucial components in this model. The
organisation needs to provide better services and product in the market to gain a
competitive advantage. In relation to Vodafone the organisation is very completive. They
are planning to implement new ideas and strategies in order to achieve a sustainable
performance in the market (Eikelenboom, and de Jong, 2021). They are scaling their way
of doing the operations by indulging various ventures and acquiring new companies.
 Supplier Power – The organisation needs to maintain a healthy relationship with the
suppliers. They are the main source the organisation is getting the raw materials in an
effective price. In accordance to Vodafone they are mandating a dominant position in the
industry (Bayo-Moriones, Galdon-Sanchez, and Martinez-de-Morentin, 2020). The
company is busying the raw materials from various potential suppliers. They had
managed to build an efficient supply chain.
 Buyer Power – The consumers have the ultimate power to make the organisation achieve
their goals and objectives. The industry is driving to provide the best products and
services to the consumers and achieve positive brand integrity. Vodafone manages to
fulfil the needs of the consumers. The organisation is building a large base of customers
by establish new ways of improving the operations in the workplace. They are rapidly

innovation new products to gain a competitive advantage (Edwards, 2021). In order to
attract new customers, they are offering various discounting schemes in their services.
 Threat of Substitution – In this competitive industry there are various products which
the customer can choose. The organisation needs to improve their products to minimize
the threat of substitute in the market. Vodafone is providing the customer oriented
services. They are attaining maximum customer satisfaction due to their ethical values.
They understand the core needs of the customers.
 Threat of New Entry – The position of the organisation can be affected by the threat of
new entrants in the market. The consumers can shift their focus to the new competitive
brand which is providing the services. Vodafone Corporation is optimizing the use of
resources to achieve better performance in the market.
VRIO Analysis
This framework is used by the organisation to evaluate the use of the resources in
accordance to their capabilities. There are four main factors on which the whole framework
focuses are mentioned below:
 Value – It relates to specific needs that what is the main motive of the product and
services which the company is providing in the market. Vodafone Company is highly
valued in providing the investment opportunities. The organisation finds the value in their
workforce. They motivate them in order to achieve the goals and objectives effectively.
 Rarity – This factor relates to the availability of the resources which the organisation
needs to use in an effective manner (Rehman, and Anwar, 2019). It is important for the
company to optimize their way of doing the operations in the workplace. Vodafone is one
of the companies which are rare to possess the valuable resources in their infrastructure.
The patents of the organisation are unique and rare in every manner.
 Imitable – This factor is similar to rarity it means that the other companies which are
present in the market cannot copy the products and services. The financial resources of
Vodafone is costly no other companies in the market had managed to achieve it. The
workforce of the company is unique and experienced. This is one of the most crucial
factors for the company. This helps them to achieve their targets and goals in an effective
manner.

 Organisation – It is an internal analysis it helps the organisation to understand their
business structure and various growth opportunities on which they can capitalise.
Vodafone has systematic workflow they are providing equal opportunities to every
individual in the workplace (Salehi, and Arianpoor, 2021). On the other hand, the patents
of the company is well organised which helps them to perform as per their full potential
in the market.
PART 2
Evaluating the diverse types of strategic directions available to the organisation
Bowman Strategic Clock
This strategy is used to understand the new market trends and make the right strategy to
maintain a positive brand integrity in the market. There are various positions in the Bowman
strategy clock which are described below:
 Low price low value added – In this stage the strategy is about the quantity selling. The
organisation sells products the consumers at an affordable price. Vodafone is not in that
position the company is attracting new customers in the market. Through this they are
achieving a sustainable performance in the industry.
 Low price – In this factor the organisation can select the price of the products and
services. Vodafone provides the essential services to the customers at an affordable rate
to gain the competitive advantage in the market.
 Hybrid – They are the companies which provide the services at a low price but the value
of the products is high in the market. Vodafone has attained high value in the market. The
companies is proving services at an affordable rate (Braun, Latham, and Cannatelli,
2019). This helps them to maintain a positive brand integrity in the market.
 Differentiation – This stage suggests that there are various product and services which
the organisation provide in the market. The product has various attributes which is valued
by the customers. Vodafone provide excellent customer service which makes them
different from other companies in the market.
 Focused differentiation - This is one of the most crucial stage in which the value of the
products comes with the high prices.

 Increased price and standard product – In order to generate maximum profits, the
organisation increase the price of the product. There are various consequences which the
organisation could face while doing this action. Vodafone enjoys high profitability in the
market because of the services provided to the consumers in the industry.
 High Price and Low value – The company use strategy to provide the goods and
services to the consumers in a monopoly price.
 Low Value Standard Price – The company which use this type of market strategy will
generally lose share in the market. Vodafone values their services and products in that
case the company provides the services at a standard price in the market.
Ansoff’s Matrix
This framework is also called the product expansion grid. This is used by the management
teams in order to formulate various new strategies and plans to achieve the overall growth in the
market. There are four stages in this framework which is mentioned below:
 Market penetration – In this strategy the organisation sells more existing products in the
market to increase their sales in an effective manner. Vodafone is using the strategy to
gain a competitive advantage in the market. They are offering the service at low prices to
attract various new potential customers.
 Market development – The research and development team of the company find various
new ways to improve the quality of the product. Vodafone is catering in the new domains
the organisation is improving their services with the regional market expansion strategies.
 Product development – This stage suggests that there is various organisation which are
improving every day in order to attract various new customers. Vodafone is investing in
the research and development team to improve their services (Pham, and et.al 2018).
They are using all the technological factors in order to achieve more profits in the
industry.
 Diversification – The organisation takes risks in order to achieve an efficient growth in
the market. They are diversifying with new opportunities by tapping in with new market
conditions. There are two types of diversification strategies one is related diversification.
In this there are potential strategies which the business realised in the market. On the
other hand, other is unrelated diversification. In this the synergy is realized between the
firms and their new products and services. Vodafone is using the related diversification

strategy in which they find a unique relationship among various customers with their
products and services.
Developing a strategic management Plan
Strategic plan can be defined as the implantation of various strategies which the company
could initiate to achieve more sales in the market. It helps the organisation to gain a competitive
advantage in the market.
Strategic Objective – The main objective of Vodafone is to expand their business and
attract new users to achieve more profitability in the market.
Strategic Plan
Particulars Details
Vision The main vison of Vodafone is thy provide the
services in an effective manner to various
customers in different regions.
Mission Vodafone needs to diversify their products to
achieve a huge market share and attract various
potential customers.
Marketing Mix Product- Vodafone provides the telecom
services to the consumers in various regions.
Price- They are proving the services at an
affordable rate to achieve maximum customer
satisfaction.
Place- Vodafone has various online stores
through which the user can use their services.
Promotion- Vodafone is doing the promotion
in an effective manner to achieve more
profitability in the industry.
STP framework Segmentation- Vodafone needs to segment
their customers base to formulate various
strategies and plans.
Targeting-They had make sure they are

acquiring a huge shares of customers to
achieve more profits.
Positioning-Vodafone has to prepare a prepare
positioning of their services to gain a
competitive advantage in the industry.
Controlling and Monitoring Methods There are various methods which are described
below:
KPIs- This is the key performance indicator in
this the organisation can achieve a overall
stability and measure their performance in an
effective manner (Yi, Park, and Kim, 2019).
 Benchmarking- It is a technique which
helps Vodafone to benchmark their
quality pf the services in the market.
Producing strategic management plan
 The organisation needs to establish various strategies. Vodafone can achieve their goals
and objectives by using the right strategy.
 The objectives must match with the vison. It helps the employees to gain maximum
productivity in the workplace.
 There are various strategies which can be formed by the company by using the essential
framework called marketing mix to achieve the inherent targets.
 STP approach will help the company to serve the target customers and position the
product at right place in the mind of customers.
 In the end the organisation needs to achieve the goals and objectives in the market. They
can test the bench mark to improve the overall performance.
Recommendations to achieve Growth and success
 Porter generic strategies includes various includes various ways to gain competitive
advantage. In relation to Vodafone the company can achieve the growth by reducing the
cost of their services and make various changes in the way of doing operations. The

organisation can make reasonable profits in the market and attain a competitive
advantage in the industry.
 Vodafone can use the focus strategy to gain advantage on the niche markets. They can
understand the needs and dynamics of the customers. It is important for the management
to embrace their vison and achieve the goals effectively.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has concluded that the organisation needs to implement various
strategies and frameworks in order to achieve the goals and objectives effectively. On the other
hand, there will be brief discussion about various frameworks which includes swot, pestle. It
could help the organisation to assess the internal and external environment in a systematic
manner. Along with that there, will be brief discussion about making a strategic management
plan. This will help the company to achieve more profitability in the market. For further instance,
there are various recommendations which include porter generic strategies to gain a competitive
advantage in the industry.